TD The Great Detective
by slug-cat
Summary: Cissy is one of the lesser known characters on Martha Speaks, she and TD give each other mysteries to solve. But when Cissy has to leave Wagstaff forever TD breaks down. The only one who can talk to him is Alice. (TDAlice ship eventually)
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Cissy is a lesser known character on Martha Speaks. Her only appearance is in season 6 episode 7 called The Mystery of the Missing Dino. So after Cissy solves TD's mystery she makes a new one for him. Our story starts with that very first clue:

Chapter One: A Mind Equal to His Own

TD walked down the front steps of Helen's house, Martha following behind.

"Cmon Martha! I have another mystery to solve!" TD exclaimed. They ran back to his house where he showed Martha the clue. He held it out for Martha to see.

"A pencil? How is a pencil a clue?" Martha looked at the pencil quizzically.

"But it's not just any pencil it's a mechanical pencil!" TD shouted.

"Uh… what's that got to do with it." Martha asked,

"Well, I don't really know but I bet there's something unusual about it." TD said. He popped off the eraser to see if there was any lead, a note flew out. "See I told you!" TD said proudly. Martha caught the rolled up piece of paper in her mouth and gave it to TD. TD read it aloud.

 _Your red token_

 _left me pok'in_

 _for the next clue_

 _now I have one for you_

"Huh?" Martha was confused.

"She's saying she has a new mystery for us!" TD smiled, he could read right through the poem into the message he was supposed to see.

"I don't get it, why is it written all weird like that then." Martha asked

"It's written in verse Martha. Verse is another word for a poem or song, this message is written as a poem. See how it rhymes?" TD explained

"Oh yeah! I see that now. But wait…. Who is 'she'? You said 'she' has a new mystery for us…" Martha asked again.

"'She' is Cissy, the girl who I made a mystery for remember? The Case of the Carnival Coin. We made it for her a few months ago and she solved it remember?" TD reminded Martha.

"Oh yeah, I remember that." Martha said, she poked at the note so it fell to the ground. Looked at it closely. "Wait a minute! She exclaimed, "This isn't a mystery for 'us' it says it's for 'you'! That means you TD."Martha nudged him.

"Hum…" TD murmured as he thought. His imagination went into overdrive, he imagined him finally solving the mystery and Cissy whispering to him, " _You've finally got me. Now, do you want to know my secret_?" then Cissy whispering to him, " _I love you TD, I really do._ "

"Uh TD?" Martha asked, TD snapped back to reality. "Are you ok? Your face is kinda red." Martha remarked.

"Sorry Martha. Now, let's go solve this mystery!" TD shouted and marched out of the garage.

"Uh TD!?" Martha shouted to him, "You still don't have your first clue." TD raced back into the garage and flipped over the note. "Another call number!" He exclaimed.

It had been 6 months since his first mystery from Cissy. They had gotten one of their clues by finding a book at the library based on its call number on the back of a note. Martha bounded down the street, "Well, what are we waiting for? Let's go find that book!" Martha called as TD raced after her.

TD rushed inside and went to a computer to look up the call number on note. He typed in SB176A422017c.1 and pressed Search. " _A Book About Tomatoes_?" TD remarked.

"Ooh so it's a book that's about tomatoes? Cool!" Martha responded.

"No look, it says the book is called _A Book About Tomatoes_ , who calls a book something like that?" TD asked to no one in particular.

"Never mind if it's a good title or not, let's go find the book." Martha said and headed into the agriculture section of the library.

"Here it is." Said TD as he pulled out the book. He flipped through it and the next note fell out. Martha pushed it into TD's hand as he replaced the book onto the shelf.

"Read it out loud TD." Martha said. And so he did:

 _Look look look_

 _You found your book_

 _But you need to find mine_

 _Before running out of time_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two: A Strawberry You Say?

A/N So we all know that Alice plays ice hockey in the winter but what about spring? I just sorta made up the fact that she plays softball in the spring so just go with it.

TD and Martha brought the new note to one of the tables to try to figure it out.

"I just don't get it, why is this _my_ book?" TD wondered "And if this is mine then what book is her's?" Martha batted at the piece of paper till it floated down to her. It somersaulted through the air and landed on the floor next to Martha face down.

"Hey look, there's something on the back!" Martha showed TD.

"You're right!" TD looked at it closer, "It seems to be some sort of symbol."

"Wait, like the thing on a drum that goes **Crash**?" Martha asked,

"No, it's a different kind of symbol. A symbol is a picture that means something. So like a symbol of a dog with a big X over it means no dogs." TD explained

"Ah, ok. So what's this symbol?" Martha asked.

"Well, it looks kind of like a-" TD looked down.

"A what?" Martha asked

"A shirt." TD finished. He paused for a moment in thought and then rushed back to the computer.

"What is it TD?"

"Here let's go find our next clue." TD wrote down a new call number on a card and went back to the agriculture section. Before Martha went to catch up to him she looked at what he had searched on the computer.

" _A Book About Berries_?" Martha wandered over to TD trying to get his attention but he was absorbed in flipping through the book.

"TD, I don't think that's the right book."

"You're right Martha, I've flipped through this book 10 times already and there's nothing."

"How about you try this book?" Martha jumped up and knocked another book into TD's hand.

" _A Book About Strawberries_? But why?" TD asked

"Cissy's shirt didn't have just any berry on it, it was a strawberry." Martha said, "I'm guessing she put the clue into a tomato book because you have a tomato on your shirt. Her shirt has a strawberry on it."

"Of course! Why didn't I realize that?" TD pulled out another book, "Here it is: _A Book About Strawberries_."

" **Library closes for lunch in 20 minutes!** " Announced the loud speaker.

"Cissy was right we are running out of time! Quick! Find the clue before the library closes."

TD rapidly flipped through the book until a long strip of paper fell out. Martha caught it and the two promptly left the library, not wanting to be left there while the library was closed. Martha's stomach grumbled, "Can we go get some lunch?" She asked

"We can't stop now! We just got a new clue!" But then TD's stomach grumbled as well. They headed to the fro yo stand to get some lunch. As Martha finished the last of TD's burger Alice came over.

"Hey TD!" She said

"Oh hi Alice, can't talk now, I've got a clue to figure out."

"Humph." Alice pouted, "I was wondering if you wanted to hang out since I'm done with practice but clearly you don't want to." She dropped her softball bag and bat with a clank and went to go get fro yo. TD kept examining the long strip of paper, it had some letters on it but they didn't make any words, TD was stumped.

"Why don't you flip it over?" Martha suggested, "That always seemed to help before." TD sighed, "I already tried that," he explained "nothing there." He showed Martha.

"Wow you're right, there's nothing on the back of the paper." TD sighed again and flipped up his notebook. He flipped over one of his doodles and started a new page with his new invisible ink pen. (He had bought it to help him make his mystery for Cissy and now used it for his secrets.) He was drawing a picture of how he would make a mystery to get Cissy to go out with him when Alice came back to the table.

"Whatcha drawing there TD? Aliens abducting a tomato so that it really likes hockey pucks and softballs?" She sighed and looked at him dreamily.

"Alice, are you ok? For a second there I thought you were staring at meat since your face was all dreamy." Martha said

"Oh uh what no. What were you asking me?" Alice asked, undone from her loving daze.

"I was just going to ask you if you can figure out what's on this paper?" Martha answered

"Oh no, don't show it to her, she might, uh ruin it or something. And anyways, she isn't part of our _team_." TD said. Alice was taken back, "Well if I'm not part of this 'secret team' you to have then I best be on my way. And I surely won't be telling you what I was going to say, even though it would have helped you tremendously." Alice picked up her things and began to march away.

"Wait!" cried Martha, Alice turned around, "What does tremendously mean?" Martha asked.

"If something is tremendous it's very very very big, and if something helps tremendously then that means it would help a whole bunch." Alice explained.

"Fine fine, you can be part of our team I guess. What were you going to say?" TD asked

"Well, I was going to say that, this isn't paper."

"What!" Martha exclaimed

"It might seem like paper but it's actually grip tape," Alice said, TD looked confused, "it's for softball players they use it to keep their hands from sliding off the bat." Alice said.

"So you tape your hand to the bat? That seems uncomfortable." said Martha

"No silly, you put in around the bat." Alice explained

"That's it of course! Why didn't I realize! Alice give me your bat. We're about to find the next clue." TD exclaimed.


	3. Chapter 3

TD took the clue and wrapped it letter side up around the softball bat. As he did words began to take shape out of the letters, or rather numbers: "147 Main St." It read, TD was puzzled but Alice understood.

"Don't you see TD? It's an address, I bet you're supposed to go there for the next clue. Well? What are you waiting for, get on with it I need my bat." Alice barked, TD quickly jotted down the address onto his notepad and returned Alice her bat. Martha and TD bounded down the road in search of Main St.

Martha waited at the corner for TD to catch up to her, and together they turned onto Main St.

"Here's 130, and there's 132." Martha pointed out, eying the address numbers on the butcher shop and music store.

"That's right," TD said, "So we need to cross the street, our address is an odd number, these are even." They crossed the street and headed towards the larger numbers till they got to their destination.

"The flower shop? How are we going to find clues there?" Martha wondered aloud.

"I don't know but let's go find out." TD and Martha entered the flower shop to be greeted by Mariella, Helen's mom.

"TD, Martha! ¿Cómo estas? How are you?" she asked them, stepping out from behind the counter.

"We're fine Mrs. Lorraine." TD replied

"We're looking for clues!" Martha added enthusiastically

"You are, well I think I might just have something for you." Mrs. Lorraine said, she went back behind the counter. "Just the other day, a young girl came by and asked if I might give these flowers to you if you came by TD." She held out a bouquet of flowers.

"Gee, thanks Mrs. Lorraine, but what kind of a clue would a bouquet of flowers be?" TD wondered quietly. They left the store and went back to TD's house to sort out their next clue. As they we're turning the corner they bumped into Alice again.

"TD," Alice blushed, "what are you doing with those flowers? Giving them to someone?" She hinted

"Well, maybe… after I figure out what clue it holds." He finished, Alice sighed and stalked away. Martha sniffed the flowers and the flower shop's business card fell out of the bouquet.

"Hey TD, we dropped something." Martha pointed out, TD picked up the card and looked it over.

"Hmmm…" he flipped it over "Ah Ha!" He exclaimed and bolted back to the house.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: An Unexpected Gift 

TD and Martha bounded down the street in the evening light back to TD's house. As TD crashed through the door his dad peeked in from the kitchen.

"Home already?" He asked, since he was now in 7th grade TD was allowed to stay out till 9, but it was only 6.

"Yup, but hopefully not for long." Said TD as he raced up the stairs to his room, Martha at his heels.

TD put the card onto his desk and zipped to his bookshelf. After tracing his finger over at least a dozen book spines he pulled out a code breaking book onto his desk.

"What are you going to do now?" Asked Martha, as she hopped her front legs onto the desk to see what the boy was doing.

"This card is written in code Martha, I'm going to use this book to break it and find out what it says."

He opened the card and copied the code onto a piece of paper and then started flipping through the book.

Code: ZL UBHFR GBZBEEBJ AVARGRRA B PYBPX


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5: A Slice of Sour News

TD began thinking out loud, "This code isn't a call number, nor a poem; like our other clues. And it wasn't on a strip of paper to wrap around something. So Cissy must have another trick up her sleeve."

"Up her sleeve?" Martha looked quizzically at the 12 year old, "why would they be in her sleeve."

"It's an expression Martha, that means it isn't meant to be taken literally." TD explained.

Flipping through his code book again, TD searched through till he found what he was looking for: the caesar cipher.

By using his code wheel he was able to rule out most possible solutions till he just had two, rot1 and rot13. Rot1 spelt AM with the first two letters while rot13 spelt MY after just one more letter, the great detective ruled out rot1 and easily completed the message. My house tomorrow nineteen o clock "Haha!" Exclaimed TD.

"Well, what did you find?" Asked Martha, and TD showed her the deciphered message. "Wow! But what's nineteen o clock. I thought the clock only has 12 numbers?"

"Well it does on a regular clock, but sometimes," he pulled out a timekeeping book. "people want a really clear way of showing morning hours and afternoon hours so rather than just repeating 1-12 in the afternoon they keep going all the way to 24." TD reached into his desk drawer and pulled out a calculator. So, if we say 19 minus 12 then the time Cissy is talking about is, 7 o clock."

"Woah!" Said Martha, amazed at the great detective's mass of knowledge. "Do we have any more clues?" She asked.

"Nope, we just have to wait till tomorrow." TD said confidently, brushing the paper to the floor.

"Wait a minute!" Martha exclaimed, sniffing the paper. "This smells like lemons! Don't you think that's a clue?"

"Actually Martha, you're not too shabby of a detective yourself. Let's see what's up with this lemon smell." TD said as he picked up the cryptic paper once more to examine it.

"Lemons, lemons, lemonade…" TD paced around the room, "of course, lemon juice!" TD snatched the paper and bounded back down the stairs to the kitchen.

"What are you going to do now great detective?" Asked Martha.

"Some spies use lemon juice as invisible ink, you we're going to make it visible again." TD explained.

"Does that mean we get to eat it?" Martha asked excitedly.

"No silly, visible means something you can see. And invisible is something you can't see. Like how, this stove is visible, but the smell of the food is invisible."

"Oh I get it!" Martha said, "So my dog food is visible but the air around us is invisible."

"Yes," said TD, "many other things are invisible like, heat, or hunger, or…" his voice trailed away… "love."

"So how are we going to make this invisible thing visible?" Martha asked and TD snapped back to focus.

TD went into the living room where his dad was reading a magazine.

"Hey dad, can you come use a candle?" He asked.

"Why sure TD," TD's dad came into the kitchen and go the candle down off the shelf, he found a match and lit it and then lit the candle. "Now remember it's very hot, what would you like me to do?"

"Here put this over it, but don't burn it!" TD handed his dad the clue paper. As the paper was placed carefully near the candle some words started to appear. After they were fully formed TD blew out the candle and took the paper back to his room.

While the words were there they still weren't quite legible yet so TD and Martha waited for the paper to cool down.

"What does it say?" Asked Martha

"Come alone." TD responded.

Martha had to go back to Helen's house after that.

But as TD lie in bed trying to go to sleep all he could think about was that note.

My house tomorrow nineteen o clock

Come alone


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six: The Longest Day in the World

The next day, in school all TD could think of was what he'd be doing at seven o clock that kept staring out the door of the classroom and when they were released for lunch he lagged behind to see if he could catch Cissy coming out of her class.

"TD, where are you going?" Asked Alice as TD headed towards Cissy classroom.

"You know lunch is this way right?" Asked Helen.

"Yeah I know, just - I'll catch up to you two in a sec." TD said clearly distracted. TD whipped his head around to see if Cissy was leaving class but he seemed to have just missed her.

"Uhhg, TD can be so dismissive sometimes." Alice pouted to Helen as she retrieved her lunch box from her locker.

"Aw, come on Alice. It's not that bad. He's just absorbed in his latest mystery." said Hellen

"A mystery that _Cissy_ sent him. hmph… It's like he's practically obsessed with that girl's little hints. It's all just a waste of time if you ask me." snarked Alice.

"Alice, just calm down. It's better than TD's obsession over being a dog. Or trying to do magic, that was bad. And it's definitely better than him trying to make a catapult to send him to school!" remarked Hellen as the two girls sat down across from each other.

" _To you it might be, but I not sure you understand…_ " Alice grumbled under her breath as Truman sat down next to Helen. The three seventh graders were talking about the upcoming Spanish test for a few minutes when TD arrived at the table.

"Darn, I forgot my locker combination for like three minutes before I could get it open." TD remarked as he sat across from Truman.

 _A/N: Useless challenge for you, based on the paragraph above, who is sitting next to and across from who?_

Lunch was generally uneventful. As expected, both Helen and Truman said that they were pretty confident about the Spanish test that would be on Wednesday. While TD would most likely struggle. It was of course implied that Alice would have a good amount of studying ahead of her, since she wasn't really one to pick up on new languages; but she didn't say a word regardless.

The rest of school passed by slower than TD had ever seen it go before. It would certainly go in the list of top slowest school days. He was surprised at the thought, but he was actually contemplating ranking it slower than the last day of school. But he couldn't be sure yet.

TD looked at his watch 7 times on the way home from school. 12 more while doing his homework. And 8 during dinner. Finally, it was 6:45.

"Hey dad?" TD asked cautiously

"What is it TD?!" TD's dad called from his work room. TD treaded down the stairs.

"Do you think I could go over to a friend's house?" the boy asked.

"For homework? Sure, I'll call Alice's mom right away." TD's dad said confidently

"Wait," TD stopped his dad mid-stair,

"It- it's not Alice, it's a um… a new friend."

"Oh well alright then," TD's dad said, "Would you give me their phone number so I can call you there?"

"I'll um…" TD's mind raced, he didn't have Cissy's number, what was he going to do? He couldn't go to her house without a number… but TD the great detective was a fast thinker.

"I'll call you when I get there." He said quickly, resolving the conundrum. "She has a really long phone number." he fibbed.

"Long phone number? huh…" TD's dad said quietly but TD had already raced back up the stairs. He grabbed his bag and his bus pass and headed for Helen's house to pick up his partner in crime (or rather detectiving).

 _A/N: Sorry for such a short chapter about such a log day, I promise exciting things are going to happen soon._

 **Add a comment below of what your prediction for the next chapter is!**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven: The Box

Bing! TD rang the doorbell to Helen's house.

"Hola TD. ¿Cómo estás? How are you?" Helen's mom answer the door.

"Oh I'm fine, I'm just here for Martha, we'll be back in a few hours." TD explained. Helen popped around the corner, "Oh hi TD. I'll get Martha for you." She said and went up the stairs.

Once Martha and TD were about a block from Helen's house Martha finally asked, "TD what are you doing?" She sounded a bit annoyed.

"We're going to Cissy's house." TD answered simply.

"W- well, why are you taking me with you?" Martha asked

"You helped me figure out the mystery; it's elementary my dear Martha." TD the great detective said

"But she said to come alone!" Martha protested

"Fine," TD stopped, "you want to know why. I'm nervous… she just so…" but then TD kept walking "nevermind, you wouldn't understand. What am I doing anyway? Talking to a dog?" TD laughed spitefully.

"Aw come on TD," Martha said sweetly, "I'm glad you told me; and you know what I will go with you to Cissy's, as moral support. But I'm not coming inside ok?" The two agreed and walked the rest of the way without argument.

"You're late TD." was the first thing they heard when the two stepped onto Cissy's lawn. "However, I was expecting you to be even later so congratulations on defying my expectations." Was the second thing Cissy said.

"I-I'd better be going now, can't wait for um Brian Oceanzest to be on TV." Martha quickly fibbed and left as Cissy lead TD into her house.

When Martha arrived home Helen's mom was a bit surprised however Helen understood, and so Martha was fed her dinner and soon retired to her chair for the night. Not watching a second of Brian Oceanzest on the television.

Back at Cissy's place TD had just finished calling his dad and Cissy was just leading him up to her room.

"You know," she said as TD trailed behind her, "your catapulting to school idea wasn't that bad. But I've got one even better."

"Oh yeah what's that?" TD asked excitedly

"What if we ziplined to school!" Cissy proclaimed and she opened the door to her room. It wasn't quite as messy as TD's but just the same it was filled with drawings and diagrams and schematics of all sorts of ideas.

"That would be amazing!" TD exclaimed, "and you could have zip-busses too!" He pulled out his notepad and started sketching a bus style gondola attached to the line of a zipline. Cissy was impressed.

"That's perfect TD!" She pulled out her own drawings, they were of elaborate hydraulics, harness systems and station planning maps. "I had everything worked out, except for overcrowding." She took TD's paper and added it to the bulletin board of sketches. "But if we have zip busses that wouldn't be a problem!" The two 12 year olds talked for a long time about their inventions, so late that it was almost 9 o' clock, TD's curfew.

"Oh Cissy! I'm so sorry, I have to go. I-I can come back some other time? I think… maybe-"TD stuttered as he tried to soothe her.

"No." Cissy clasped his hand "I'm sorry but I didn't make you that mystery for nothing." She looked him right in the eye. "Don't turn into some sort of Cinderella on me, please. Ask your dad if you can stay the night." Cissy's shining eyes were all the courageous TD needed. He called up his dad and by some miracle chance he was allowed to stay.

Cissy's moms fed the two children a wonderful dinner and soon retired to their room to watch TV, leaving the two children to their own devices.

"There's one thing I haven't shown you yet." Cissy said as the two kids walked back up to Cissy's room. "Come in here," she said leading TD into what seemed like her closet.

"Um Cissy, that's your closet, don't you mean some other door?" TD asked, confused

"Come on." Cissy insisted. And for a moment TD thought he'd be going to Narnia or something of the sort. But, it was just a closet, a peculiar on at that, but still just a closet.

"Welcome to The Box." Cissy announced as she pulled a chain to turn on the singular lightbulb and then closed the door. There was just enough room for the two of them, and chairs for them to sit in too.

"What's that weird stuff on the walls?" TD asked, for indeed strange shapes of zigzagging foam lined the walls and door.

"That, my dear TD. Is why this is The Box and not just a closet. Foam in that shape absorbs more sound than any other commonly found object. So right now, the only person who can hear me, is you." Cissy smiled and TD did in turn. Cissy got up from her chair and locked the door.

"Everything said in The Box stays in The Box, I will tell no one and you will tell no one. Got it?"

"Got it." TD said. But Cissy was serious about this, just someone's word wasn't good enough for her; a pinky promise was put into effect and seemed to satisfy her.

"Now, we talk."

And indeed they did. They talked well into the night, about all sorts of things: the latest conspiracy about their teacher being an alien, who the biggest liars in the school were. If Martha was a secret agent like a certain turquoise platypus they saw on TV. And more. As TD dozed off in his sleeping bag that night he was sure that today had been the best day he'd ever had.

But he had no clue what was to come.


End file.
